WARD 7 SAFE & DRUG-FREE COMMUNITIES COALITION

District of Columbia
DFC GRANT DRAFT ACTION PLAN
September 30, 2015 to September 29, 2016
DFC Goal #1: Increase Community Collaboration
Objective #1:

By September 29, 2016 increase community partnerships and community capacity

to effect positive community change

Strategy #1:

Improve Coalition infrastructure

Activity

Fill open Sector Lead slots:

Re-engage with all sector leads to ensure their commitment to
the Coalitions work remains a top priority
Ask current Leads for recommendations of community leaders to
serve on other Sector teams
Attend community meetings to be knowledgeable about
community concerns related to youth substance use/abuse; and
identify potential new Sector team participants and Sector Leads
as necessary
Update recruitment and agreement materials
Engage community members as Sector team members:
Identify opportunities for hands-on work and recruit community
to participate
Reach out to partners
Engage community members as Coalition members:
Identify opportunities for active engagement
Connect at community meetings
Use social and traditional media to inform and connect
Develop Coalition Membership form
Improve internal communications, Coalition meeting planning, and
feedback loop; activities will include but will not be limited to:
Publishing list of Coalition meeting dates
Engaging Sector Leads and teams in meeting agenda
development
Distributing meeting notes
Following up after meetings
Determining specific support Sector Leads need to complete
their work
Maintaining list of meeting attendees

Who is responsible

Timeline

Current Sector Leads,

staff

October 2015 February 2016

Sector Leads, staff

(support)

November 2015 ongoing

Sector Leads, staff

January 2016 ongoing

Sector team members,

staff (support)

October 2015 ongoing

Strategy #2:

Improve stakeholder engagement

Activity

Who is responsible

Re-establish relationships with community leaders and regularly

attend community meetings (ANC, civic associations, etc.) in the
three communities where we will be focusing ATOD education
efforts in
Kenilworth Courts (meet on the property)
Clay Terrace/Richardson Dwelling area (meet at Coalition office,
building on site or community room or church)
Benning Terrace (and perhaps Stoddert Terrace) (partner with
ERFSC teen pregnancy prevention program) (meet at DCHA Rec
Center)
Share Coalition information and alcohol and drug-related
information regularly with the community broadly:
Meetings and social and traditional media (below)
Within Sectors, organization with Sector representation
Engage community in sharing information and talking about the
problems and solutions:
Twitter
Facebook
Text
W7SDCC blog
Community blogs and websites
Traditional media

Appropriate Sector Leads,

staff

November 2015 ongoing

Sector Leads, staff

November 2015 ongoing

Media Sector Lead, Media

Sector team, staff

Ongoing

Strategy #3:

Timeline

Enhance skills and capacity of Coalition and interested community members

Activity

Send one or more Coalition leaders, members or partners and one or

more staff to CADCAs Annual Forum
Send one Coalition leader and one staff member to CADCAs MidYear Forum
Engage Sector teams and cultural competency expert in improving
cultural competency of Coalition members, partners, and staff
Identify and leverage local training opportunities for Coalition and
community members on emerging drug trends, coalition-building,
leadership development, communications

Who is responsible

Timeline

Sector Leads, staff

February 2016

Sector Leads, staff

August 2016

Sector Leads, staff

Spring 2016

Sector Leads, staff

Ongoing

DFC Goal #2:

Reduce Youth Substance Use

Objective #1:

Educate the community about the risk and protective factors surrounding ATOD
use

Strategy #1:

Educate the community about ATOD protective and risk factors

Activity

Release 2015 Pride report:

Meet with Chavez leadership
Post full aggregated reports on the website
Pull snippets from the report and use in social media, share with
media and community
Co-sponsor workshops/community conversations in a minimum of
three communities identified as needing information about the
challenges and facts re: specific drugs. Include brief overview of
2015 Pride report results.
Communities to engage are:
Kenilworth Courts (meet on the property)
Clay Terrace/Richardson Dwelling area (meet at Coalition office,
building on site or community room or church)
Benning Terrace (and perhaps Stoddert Terrace) (partner with
ERFSC teen pregnancy prevention program) (meet at DCHA Rec
Center)
Educate community about youth ATOD problems and solutions
including what the Sectors are doing:
Create messages and images for various social media and
traditional media outlets
Twitter
Facebook
W7SDCC blog
Community blogs and websites
Traditional media
Develop process for Sector Leads and teams to share
information regularly about what they are doing
Coordinate with community partners and DC government
agencies to proactively support The Blunt Truth Campaign
Co-sponsor one ward-wide town hall with experts in law
enforcement, drugs, and services
Get co-sponsors (from partners and other organizations)
Speakers may include DEA, MPD, HIDTA, DBH, DOH, OAG,
Unity Healthcare
Include youth panel to address youth perspective
Tabling by schools, service providers
Educate faith community about drugs, where leaders can refer
individuals and families for help

Who is responsible

Timeline

School Sector Lead, Media

Sector Lead and team,
staff

February 2016

Sector Leads, Partners,

Law Enforcement Sector,
staff

February
September 2016

Media Sector Lead,

Media Sector team,
Government Sector Lead,
staff

Ongoing

Youth Lead and Team,

Law Enforcement Sector
Lead and team, Health
Sector Lead and team,
staff, other Sector Leads,
and teams

Spring 2016
(consider when
breaks are, testing,
ask School Sector)

Religious Lead and Team,

staff (support)

February
September 2016

Strategy #2:

Engage Ward 7 residents and stakeholders in youth ATOD use prevention

Activity

Engage youth in advocacy efforts as opportunities arise

Facilitate conversations between educators east of the Anacostia

River about drug use among students; including MPD's School
Security Division as appropriate (School Resource Officers)
Parent focus groups:
Engage parents, representative of the entire Ward, in three focus
groups to learn their views on drugs, their awareness of their
childrens knowledge about drug use, and their struggles
communicating with their children about drugs.
Prepare report on findings of focus groups with parents and
share with Coalition and wider community; use the information
to inform future Coalition work.
Engage 8 - 10 parents of middle school-age youth who live in
Kenilworth Courts in "Talk They Hear You" pilot to educate parents
about specific drugs and ways they can improve communication with
their children

Who is responsible

Timeline

Youth Sector lead, staff

(support), MSW intern,
School Sector Lead and
Team
School Sector Lead, Law
Enforcement Team, staff

February
September 2016

Parent Sector Lead,

Parent Sector team,
School Sector Lead,
School Sector team, staff

January
September 2016;
date for first group
April 2016; report
due August 2016

Parent Sector Lead,

School Sector Lead, staff
(support)

January May
2016

Objective #2:

Restrict access to alcohol and synthetic marijuana

Strategy # 1:

Ensuring retailer compliance with the law

February June
2016

Activity

Who is responsible

Youth verification of retailer compliance with the window

advertisement restrictions:
20 young people in engaged schools conduct three compliance
exercises
Identifying stores, notifying them of the project
Compiling pictures, estimates
Reporting to ABRA
Encourage businesses to participate in DC government's The Right
Choice Campaign to prevent retail sales of synthetic marijuana.
Work to include but is not limited to:
Identify the businesses in Ward 7 which have already signed the
pledge; visit to thank, take pictures, share on social media. DCRA
has the list. Publish the list on the Coalition website.
Identify and engage the businesses in Ward 7 which have not
signed the pledge and those who represent the types of
businesses which have been found to sell synthetic marijuana
(the type of retailer, i.e., corner store)
Partner with DCRA to elevate the Ward 7 Pledge work, bring
attention to the problem of synthetic marijuana
Include information about the Pledge in the W7BP outreach
materials, discussion items on biz visits
Actively engage W7BP board members and other business
owners in this work
Be in touch with Major Narcotics Division about the pledge plan

Youth Sector Lead, School

Sector lead, School Sector
team, staff (support),
graduate school intern

February
September 2016

Timeline

Business Sector Lead and

team, Government Sector
Lead and Team, Law
Enforcement Lead and
team, staff

December 2015
September 2016

Strategy #2:

Identify and advocate additional policy changes

Activity

Analyze input from community meetings, Pride research study,

youth advocacy efforts in schools and the community, focus groups
with parents, and information from partners and Sector Leads to
identify legislative and policy change needs
Create a working group to advocate for ATOD policy changes.
Members would include but not be limited to:
DC Housing Authority Ward 7 Resident Councils, civic
associations, ANCs
Health care organizations
Other DC DFC grantees
DBH Prevention Centers
Faith-based organizations

Who is responsible

Timeline

Sector Leads, staff

(support)

December 2015 ongoing

Staff, Sector Leads and

teams

February 2016
ongoing; first
meeting in February

Share local and national legislative information, research, and other

relevant information; create a combined advocacy agenda to prevent
and reduce youth drug use/abuse in Ward 7 and the entire District of
Columbia.